Welcoming Our New Chief Executive and Managing Director

I am thrilled to announce the successful conclusion of an extensive six-month search for our new staff leader. The Board is excited to introduce Ms. Cynthia “Cindy” Reilly as the incoming Chief Executive and Managing Director of AST, commencing her role on December 6, 2023.

Cindy holds a master’s degree in health and medical policy and boasts an impressive background in association management, accumulating over two decades of experience as a nonprofit leader. Her most recent position was as the Chief Operating Officer at the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP), a large nonprofit organization in the pharmacy sector. Prior to that, she was the Director of the Substance Use Prevention and Treatment Initiative at Pew Charitable Trusts, where her team successfully executed research, technical assistance, and advocacy programs. These efforts resulted in significant achievements, including securing $1 billion in federal funding for substance use disorders treatment, establishing safeguards for opioid prescribing in Medicaid, and passing crucial legislation allowing Medicare Part D to prevent opioid-related harm.

Cindy brings a profound understanding of the influential role played by associations and their members in advancing practice and enhancing patient care. We are enthusiastic about collaborating with her to further advance and expand the AST.

As with most welcomes, there are often hard goodbyes. At the end of this year, we will bid farewell to Cindy’s predecessor, Shandie Covington, who has served as the Executive Director of AST for eight and a half years. Her dedication to the field of organ donation and transplantation, coupled with her in-depth knowledge of policy, has been an invaluable asset to our organization. We extend our heartfelt appreciation for her years of partnership and service and wish her every success in her future endeavors.

Sincerely,

Josh Levitsky, MD, MS, FAST, FAASLD AST President